UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Energy secretary Ed Miliband is exploring ways to expand North Sea drilling without breaking Labour’s pledge against new oil licenses, amid activist pressure.
As reported by the Guardian, Ed Miliband is considering fresh North Sea drilling despite Labour’s promise not to issue licenses for new seabed areas.
How Ed Miliband plans to expand North Sea Drilling without breaking the pledge?
The energy secretary considers plans to boost North Sea oil and gas output without breaking Labour’s pre-election promise to halt new licenses.
The upcoming North Sea strategy, due in the coming months, faces pressure from climate activists to halt drilling and from US President Donald Trump to expand it.
Mr Miliband has spent months developing North Sea proposals as the government seeks to extend the life of current oil and gas fields without opening new ones.
Ministers are exploring ways to gain economic benefit from existing oil operations, following Labour’s vow to halt new licenses. Around 30,000 people are employed by oil and gas firms in north-west Scotland.
How did officials plan to revive abandoned North Sea Oil fields?
Ministers have reportedly reviewed several proposals, including one designed to encourage companies to drill in previously abandoned North Sea areas.
The plans first appeared in an August paper by Prof John Underhill, an energy transition expert at Aberdeen University. The professor urged ministers to grant “bespoke” oil and gas licenses to extract hydrocarbons from previously unprofitable sites.
Under the scheme, firms owning gas pipelines and other infrastructure could be incentivized to return to old fields to extract more fuel. The plan could be combined with measures to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, including a ban on routine gas flaring.
The professor recently held talks with energy officials about proposals that could proceed without issuing licenses for new fields.
Mr Underhill added,
“Bespoke permitting, tied to critical infrastructure, would speed up the process of evaluation and development of existing discoveries and undrilled prospects. A new permitting regime would extend the life of critical infrastructure, enable growth and protect jobs by enabling discoveries to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and speed up the time from award to production.”
What did Tessa Khan say about the controversial North Sea Oil plan?
Tessa Khan, the executive director of the climate group Uplift, stated,
“While we remain distracted by ever diminishing amounts of oil and gas, we are missing the huge opportunities to create good, clean energy jobs in the UK, in domestic wind manufacturing in particular, that will last us long into the future.”
What did a government spokesperson say about oil and gas licenses?
A government spokesperson said,
“The strategy will set out how the government intends to meet its manifesto commitments to ensure no new licenses to explore new fields and maintaining existing fields for their lifetime.”
They added that the government would meet its pre-election pledges “in full”
What did a source say about Miliband’s North Sea Oil plans?
An insider close to Ed Miliband stated,
“We are working to ensure a policy outcome which delivers on the twin objectives of the manifesto — ensuring a world-leading position on no new licenses to explore new fields, and to maintain existing fields for their lifetime.”
They added,
“We will deliver both on climate leadership and a just transition in the North Sea.”
What did Donald Trump say about the UK’s North Sea Oil?
At a recent UN speech, Donald Trump criticized Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over the UK’s net-zero push for 2030.
The US president said of the UK,
“They have tremendous oil left and, more importantly, they have tremendous oil that hasn’t even been found yet. And what a tremendous asset for the United Kingdom, and I hope the prime minister’s listening because I told it to him three days in a row – that’s all he heard: ‘North Sea oil, North Sea.’”
What Did Kemi Badenoch Say About North Sea Oil and Gas Extraction?
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the party plans to boost oil and gas output in the North Sea if elected. She argued the UK must maximize hydrocarbon production to drive economic growth.
Ms Badenoch stated,
“We are in the absurd situation where our country is leaving vital resources untapped while neighbours such as Norway extract them from the same seabed. Britain has already decarbonised more than every other major economy since 1990, yet we face some of the highest energy prices in the developed world.”
She said,
“This is not sustainable and it cannot continue. That is why I am calling time on this unilateral act of economic disarmament and Labour’s impossible ideology of net zero by 2050. So, a future Conservative government will scrap all mandates for the North Sea beyond maximising extraction.”
The Conservative leader added,
“It is time that common sense, economic growth and our national interest came first, and only the Conservatives will deliver that. We are going to get all our oil and gas out of the North Sea.”
What did a Department for Energy spokesperson say about North Sea Oil and net zero?
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said,
“We are already delivering a fair and orderly transition in the North Sea to drive growth and secure skilled jobs for future generations, with the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and three first-of-a-kind carbon capture and storage clusters.”
They added,
“We are committed to delivering the manifesto commitment to not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis.”
What did the oil industry claim about extra North Sea production?
Oil companies argue that permission to drill near current operations could extract over 7 billion additional barrels of oil and gas.
Environmental activists said the plan would produce minimal extra fuel while undermining efforts to transition to renewables.
Treasury officials believe incentivizing production could support short-term economic growth, as Labour faces pressure to protect the industry.
How Ed Miliband could decide on controversial North Sea oilfields?
Ed Miliband could soon face a decision over whether to approve two disputed North Sea oilfields, Rosebank and Jackdaw, while outlining new production rules.
Shell and Equinor must reapply for environmental approval after a judge rejected their previous applications, with the final decision resting on the energy secretary.
Mr Miliband may allow the project to proceed without breaking party pledges, since the licenses exist and only environmental approval is required.